That Sickly Feeling
by happyday girl
Summary: Short little accompaniment to "Extinction". Malcolm has just come back from Medi-Bay, and he is really not feeling himself. Hoping to get some water before going back to his quarters, he is instead met by Trip. The two of them talk about the day and how his 'transformation' affected the both of them. Friendship only. Please R&R!


**Hello! This is set just after the episode "Extinction". It's just a little filler for the end, which I hope you will like ^^**

**Enjoy…. **

Malcolm stumbled from Medi-Bay, his stomach still churning; he couldn't really tell whether he was hungry or feeling sick, but one thing was for sure…he was not going to take up the Doctor's offer for dinner.

His head swam as he made his way slowly to his quarters, making him close his eyes every now and then to get his mind back on track. He really didn't feel himself, but Phlox did warn them that it might take a while to get totally back to normal. He quite fancied a drink, and by drink he meant the only thing that he could get down at the moment- water. The Mess hall wasn't too far away, and it should be relatively empty by now.

As he made his way there, flashes of what had happened the previous day moved round in his mind- he pushed the thoughts back, uncomfortable with what they held. Upon reaching the door for the Mess hall he pushed the button, feeling his stomach lurch again as the waft of food swept over him. 'Not a good idea….' He whispered to himself, and he was just about to turn and walk away again when he heard a familiar voice call his name. Trip was sitting in the corner, mug of coffee in front of him. 'You alright?' he heard him say- he had to go over there now, he thought. Just don't look at the food on the other tables.

He smiled queasily at the man, sinking into the chair beside him with a sigh. 'Commander,' he nodded, before remembering he had come in here for water. He made to stand up, but light-headedness struck again, causing him to lurch against the table before sitting again.

'Whoa….steady there Malcolm!' Trip said, putting a hand out to steady him. 'What were you after?'

'Water...' Malcolm replied, massaging his temples.

'A'right….I'll get ya a glass- be right back.' Trip said, before getting up and walking to the machine.

Malcolm yawned as he relaxed into his chair. He could feel his stomach fluttering in a very nasty way….if he didn't eat anything he should be fine, he reasoned.

Soon Trip was back, and he placed a large glass in front of the other man- as he sat he narrowed his eyes at him, checking him over with a concerned feeling in his chest.

Malcolm caught this look as he was swallowing the water. 'Please stop staring at me, Commander….it's a tad unnerving.' He said, smiling at Trip as the other man looked away.

'Sorry, I just like to make sure you're ok- the Cap'n and Hoshi are getting better I think- they're both tired as hell though.' Trip replied, shaking his head. 'Thought we'd lost four good members of our team yesterday.' He added.

'I'm fine, Trip- really. Just tired, a bit sore in some places, but mainly I feel sick. The doctor says it should go away in a few days.'

'Good.' Trip muttered, relief plain on his face. 'It was awful though, taking you back in the Shuttlepod- half of me was worried that you weren't in there anymore, the other half was terrified you were gonna kill me!' he said, shaking his head.

'Really….I don't remember much, except landing on the planet- just that it was very hot. Then everything's a blur until I came round in the Medi-bay.' Malcolm muttered, shuddering at the thought. 'Not something I'd like to go through again, I can assure you!' he quipped, drinking more of his water.

Trip rolled his eyes, taking a gulp of his own coffee. 'I hope not!' he said, shaking his head as he put his mug down. 'So how are you feeling? I mean really feeling?'

'What is this, a therapy session?' Malcolm muttered, before sighing as blue eyes narrowed at him. He drank some more water, thinking, before clearing his throat. 'Better than I expected, to be honest- I still feel sick, and I can't stomach eating anything at all at the moment. I keep getting flashes of what happened on that planet and it…it scares me a bit.' Malcolm felt his cheeks grow a little hot, but Trip didn't seem to find his revelation embarrassing- instead he gave him a small smile.

'I'm sure you'll be like that for a while- you spent the day as a green freak-monster! That'll scare anyone!' he joked, feeling relieved as Malcolm snorted.

'Cheers for that!' he grinned, before downing the rest of his drink. 'That makes me feel a whole lot better!' His head still swam a little as he stood, but this time he felt a little steadier on his feet. He hadn't expected a deep, emotional conversation with the engineer, but this little chat had made him feel better. He just had to keep trying to keep the images of the past day out of his mind.

'I think I'm going to go and get some sleep; it might keep my mind off my stomach.' He grimaced, distaste on his face. 'Sounds like a good plan,' Trip agreed, standing up as well.

'Repairs?'

'Of course- this ship aint' gonna run herself!' the Engineer replied, before he walked forwards- he put his hand on Malcolm's shoulder and squeezed lightly before walking to the door. 'See you in the morning, Malc.' He called, before only his footsteps could be heard after the closing of the door.

Malcolm smiled to himself, and was just about to turn and walk out when someone walked past him with a steaming plate of spaghetti bolognaise. He felt his stomach rise, and with a panicked face he darted out of the mess hall, hoping against hope he would make it back to his room in time.

He would think twice about volunteering to do anything again, he decided.

**I hope you liked it :)**

**Please review, and thank you so much for reading!**

**X **


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